Returning faulty goods – What's the deal?

I took back some faulty ski goggles today (condensation between the two lenses on 2nd use). Initially the shop said they would need to send them back to Smith for assessment before refunding or replacing but after I pointed out the inconvenience this would cause they refunded me.

This got me thinking about what ones rights are here. I’ve been told in the past that as your ‘contract’ is with the shop then it’s up to them to refund or replace the goods but I don’t know if this is correct.

The supplier, for a reasonable time you would expect a product to last for.

Going to have that problem in the next few days.

Your issue is always with the retailer but you can imagine that there might be some sort of fault whereby they want the advice of the manufacturer to determine whether it’s a manufacturing fault or something caused by the purchaser.

I always thought that if you buy something and it is faulty , you are entitled to a refund. You are not obliged to agree to it being sent away to the manufacturer.

The onus is on the retailer/manufacturer to show it was not their fault. They can therefore demand a reasonable time to do that. After a while (6 months??) the burden of proof is with the customer to show that it WAS a manufacturing fault.

I can see why the shop would be wary if there is potential for the manufacturer to deny them a refund. Not a big deal for a £50 pair of goggles but a big deal for a 3 grand bike.

Does anyone know the actual piece of legislation that covers this? I assume there is one.

Sale of Goods Act

Sale of Goods Act

Sorry, I should have been more specific. Does anyone know the relevant part of the SoGA? It’s a big document!

Merchantable quality

Spin, this is what you’re looking for, I think:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/3045/regulation/9/made

Spin, this is what you’re looking for, I think:

Shplendid. Thank you.

This section seems to leave it a bit open as to whether the shop needs to replace the goods immediately or whether they can send them back to manufacturers for inspection:

(5) Any question as to what is a reasonable time or significant inconvenience is to be determined by reference to—

(a)the nature of the goods, and .
(b)the purpose for which the goods were acquired.